If you work in the IT sector, chances are you’ve probably heard of managed services. Your company may even use some of the most essential ones already. What makes managed services so popular is that providers specialise in various types of services such as managed IT support, middleware managed services, cloud infrastructure support or data analytics services. When a company decides to delegate their IT operations to an expert Manage Service Provider (MSP), it can automatically enjoy the benefits of focusing on core business aspects.
My experience working in a bespoke software development company showed me how valuable IT support and service management can be for clients. It is often the case that companies have lots on their plates regarding core business functions depending on the industry they are in. Fashion businesses will want to concentrate on designing new fashion lines and creating power campaigns for them. Logistic companies would care primarily for shipment deadlines, safety transportation etc. What many modern enterprises nowadays have in common is that a lot of processes run in the background so that main business objectives can be achieved and clients satisfied.
The function of managed services is to allow businesses to concentrate on pivotal tasks while someone else supports the background work. This can consist of regular updates and improvement suggestions, infrastructural tasks and reduced incident risks for example.
Here are some of the most popular types of managed services and how they can benefit your business as well:
Database Managed Services
Each and every IT infrastructure operates on huge amounts of data gathered, organized in a format that is easily accessible in a large database (DB). There are two types of databases – relational databases (or SQL) in table formats that contain sensitive information like sales or clients interaction or non-relational databases (NoSQL) stored in a non-tabular format, used to store detailed documents with various data formats. Databases are so comprehensive that they call for the use of database management systems (DBMS) like MySQL, Oracle, MongoDB or PostgreSQL.
As it is of great importance that your database is properly managed to avoid data loss or even leak, database administration is considered to be a must-have IT service to rely on. Database professionals are also called database administrators and some of their main responsibilities include database tuning and performance monitoring, evaluation of DBs features, DB design and implementation as well as standard maintenance and recovery when necessary.
Cloud-based Managed Services
Cloud computing makes it easy to store and access on-demand data on multiple devices without direct management by any user. Large clouds storing data are usually distributed on several servers in different locations with the convenient option to scale depending on your business performance. Today, perhaps the most popular cloud-based service is the Software-as-a-Service model, relieving us from thinking about hardware capacity limits. Clouds really are a robust technology that enables companies to run their application faster with decreased need for continuous manual maintenance.
Nevertheless, without proper management of the cloud environment, any business becomes vulnerable to security breaches. It is essential to be able to minimize such risks and a good way to do so is to trust your cloud services to an expert company, specializing in this area. Among the many benefits of outsourcing, this task to a cloud MSP is that doing so can significantly reduce the maintenance costs as third-party providers often charge fixed monthly rates. Plus, cloud managed services are often flexible and you can choose from different package deals that target small, medium or large cloud environments and focus on services like network monitoring and security protection.
Automation Services
In a fast-paced technological era like era, new software is emerging every day. To stay competitive and increase clients satisfaction companies prefer to employ automation because this is a vital step to streamline and expedite IT processes. As an overall result of automation costs, effectiveness and shorter execution times are achieved. What is more, automated services allow human efforts and expertise to be directed to other important business tasks.
Some of the most common types of services that ought to be enhanced by automation are remote monitoring and management (RMM), also referred to as network management, and professional service automation (PSA). RMMs are employed to monitor client endpoints, networks and computers by installing an “agent”, so that the managed service provider can oversight machine capabilities, check for update requirements and remotely resolve problems. PSAs on the other hand seek to automate business operations that are different from IT processes such as accounting or administration. Effective PSA apps provide optimization of resources while offering easily managed projects and drive stronger company margins.
Integration Services
One of the most important integration processes though is enterprise application integration (or EAI). Through this type of integration, consistent information flow across various systems is achieved. Also, when your business replaces brand applications, business policies do not need to be re-implemented. EAI is considered to be user-friendly because of the consistent software application access interface that is provided, helping the users concentrate on core activities rather than learn new applications.
Among the crucial advantages that EAI brings along are that it provides instant real-time information access and that it streamlines processes. Furthermore, the whole development and later maintenance is made easy and convenient to ensure smooth integration of your business and IT environment. This way does not only make day-to-day operations easier, but it also accelerates business as it drives innovations forward.
To sum up, there are plenty of types of managed services available right now, some of them like SaaS being mainstream. When making a choice which type is the right one for your business, take a closer look at your needs and outline future business goals, so that you get the most of your managed service provider. After all, two of main advantages you get while you delegate the responsibility for some services to a third party are that experienced professionals have your back and that you cut financial resources that can be invested in business development.
Authored by Aleksandrina Vasileva
Aleksandrina is a Content Creator at Dreamix, a custom software development company, and is keen on innovative technological solutions with a positive impact on our world. Her teaching background mixed with her interests in psychology drives her to share knowledge. She is an avid reader and enthusiastic blogger, always looking for the next inspiration.
